Equestrian history, especially Polish, Eurasian and American horsemanship and its history - from Bronze Age to AD 1939. Historical equestrian art, my own artwork & reconstructions, and some traditional art media and digital artwork-related topics.
All my text and my own art etc - all rights reserved unless permitted by 'Dariusz caballeros' aka DarioTW

Friday, March 24, 2017

Vrancx - winged horse

Salve,
let us hope the winter is over, but feeling a bit sinister I would like to return to the winter pleasures of the olden days, as these scenes were painted by our good Flemish friend Sebastian Vrancx.

ergo, Master Sebastian painted more than a few of canvasses showing Low Countries citizens engaging in some simple and others more complex winterpleasures, including the art of driving a horse-draw sleigh.
It appears from the images that driving was done on ice a lot, since very little snow covered the landscape of the cities and towns (when compared with the Central and Eastern Europe of the XVII century) and perhaps driving over the frozen canals was quite a pleasure and thrill - the British historian Simon Schama's book 'The Embarrassment of Riches' provides plentiful information on the daily lives and pleasures of the citizen and visitors in the Low Countries during that period (caveat! be forewarned - :) - Daniel Snowman (2004), "Simon Schama". History Today. 54 (7): 34-36, wrote about Schama's writing that it was "packed with evocative detail: rich fruit cakes crammed with raisins, currants, nuts and glacé cherries all.")

I especially like this 'winged' horse

'taken' from this canvass

The harness used for the 'winged horse' looks a bit like the Old Polish arrangement. Perhaps one of the traders brought it back from Gdańsk while on the trading mission in the Baltic port.

About Me

Czołem/Salve, fellow net traveler... I am Dariusz aka Dario and this is my meydân. Born in the year of the Fire Horse hence I never tire of admiring, drawing & painting or sculpting horses, or just researching the history of equus cabalus, especially in the mounted warrior context. My drawings and paintings - prints - are available for sale (I use MyPaint, Krita & GIMP), I also do commissioned illustration etc, so if you need to contact me regarding a purchase, commission, or any other matter, do email me: darajawausz[at]gmail [dot] com
Ciao - Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas